Here's What FCA Has Up Its Sleeve In The Next Couple Of Years

Chrysler has come a long way since it was bought out by Fiat in 2014. FCA sales were still down in 2017 and many of the group's brands are in desperate need of some new models. The current CEO of FCA, Sergio Marchionne, had a five-year plan to revitalize the company. Marchionne is set to retire in 2019, so he was very casual when talking about future products at the 2018 North American International Auto Show. In an interview with MotorTrend, Marchionne spilled the beans on some of FCA's goals for 2022 that are set to be revealed on June 1.

The first piece of information that Marchionne gave out was that a large SUV to sit above the Stelvio was "very" important for Alfa Romeo. This large SUV would feature some form of electrification and Marchionne said that “you’re going to get mileage you’ve never seen before.” He added that not developing the Alfa and Maserati brands “would be financially suicidal for FCA.” Hopefully Alfa Romeo and Maserati can start to fill out their product portfolios in the coming years. The Chrysler brand could also add some much needed new models. Currently, the Chrysler brand only sells the 300 sedan, and the Pacifica minivan, which is not a very diverse product portfolio.

We thought that Chrysler may spice up its lineup with a Hellcat-powered version of the 300, but Chrysler's next car will likely be a crossover based on the Pacifica's platform. “We’re still playing with that thing,” Marchionne said. “It’s there. We have the car designed and we’re ready to go.” A Chrysler crossover was in Marchionne's original five-year plan, but it was pushed back. Now, this model could see production in as few as 18 months. The most interesting piece of news that Marchionne talked about was the rumored SUV from Ferrari, which is very much on the table. “I have seen the car when I was in Europe,” but "It’s not finished. It’s going to be Ferrari. It will drive like a Ferrari or I’ll be taken to the shed.”

So far, the only thing that Ferrari has built is a mock-up body that is not drivable, but it reportedly "looks good." Marchionne added that “so far the fastest SUV belongs to Alfa,” referring to the Stelvio Quadrifoglio. “To be honest, I don’t think Ferrari fears Alfa. It will do its best to have the fastest SUV" he said. When asked about a EV from Ferrari, Marchionne did not deny it and replied that “What Elon did is doable by all of us," referring to the Tesla Roadster. Even though Marchionne is retiring as CEO of FCA, he will stay as the head of Ferrari and work on developing new hybrid sports cars.

When asked about the rumored Jeep Wrangler pickup truck, Marchionne confirmed that is was coming, but production of the standard Wrangler was more important. Finally, Marchionne confirmed that the Ram brand has no plans to enter the European market, and that a mid-size replacement for the Dakota isn't really necessary right now. We now have some really good insight into what FCA will be coming out with in the coming years.